Cracking your knuckles can accomplish so many things: release tension in your fingers, keep your hands busy, totally annoy those around you and possibly even freak them out - all valid reasons. Just how do you do it, though? Let us count the ways.

Steps

Part 1

Gripping, Pressing, Twisting, and Cracking

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Clench your hands so they interlock. Think how someone would hold a die when playing a dice game. This is the first step to limbering up your fingers.

You can also rotate your hand and then push down on your top knuckles, too. This can take a bit of getting used to and can be painful at first.

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Or take it one finger at a time. Make a fist like you did in the other methods, but then concentrate on just one finger. You may be able to get a louder pop if you dedicate all the pressure to one finger.

With the thumb of your other hand on the finger you're going to crack, hold the hand you're cracking with your other hand. Press down one at a time with your thumb either on top of your finger or pressing down near the tip to crack the top.

You may need to rotate your hands a bit. Dead on your middle and ring finger should crack, but with a little twist, you can focus on your pointer and pinky fingers.

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Try cracking your knuckles by twisting. There's two ways you can do this:

Take one hand and wrap it around the finger you want to crack. Then swing that hand while you hold the finger stable. It takes a little time to perfect, but you can get a good crack out of it.

You can do it for the top joints, too; just grip a little higher.

Grab the top part of your knuckle with your opposite hand and give it a twist. Basically, instead of twisting your cracking-hand, you twist the hand doing the cracking.

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Try cracking your knuckles without even touching them. You just stiffen your fingers and slowly try to bend them forward; if your knuckles are particularly bubbly, this can work. However, for most people it's just a lofty pipe dream.

And even fewer people can crack the same finger immediately after they have already popped it. This may not be the case for you, but if you're having problems, consider waiting 5-10 minutes and crack again.

Part 2

Understanding Your Knuckles

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Understand why your knuckles crack. The noise is believed to be gas bubbles popping inside the fluid in your joints as you move them just so.[1] Given varying joint sizes in different people, some people can make more noises than others. Some will not be able to crack their knuckles at all. Which ones can you do? The top and bottom knuckles, too?

All of our joints (where bone meets bone and attached by tendons and ligaments) are surrounded by synovial fluid. By stretching your finger, you create an increase in volume which, in turn, creates a drop in pressure. That starts the gases dissolving, forming bubbles. Those are the bubbles that are popping in your fingers; the process is known as "cavitation."[2]

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Wait for 15 or so minutes between cracks. Once you have cracked your knuckles, it will take some time for the gas bubbles to re-dissolve into your synovial fluid. This prevents you from cracking them again right away. But the fluid should be ready to go in 10 to 15 minutes or so. Try timing yours![3]

Know the effects. Your mother probably told you that cracking your knuckles leads to arthritis or some other bad effect on your hands. Is it true? Well, probably not.[4] Some studies have been done, and none have been conclusive. It's mostly just an old wives' tale.

Some say that yes, it can lead to joint pain while others say there's no connection whatsoever. And then there's the fact that those who crack their knuckles may already have pain, so how can you account for that? But as with anything, don't overdo it just to be safe.

Community Q&A

It sometimes can take time and practice to crack your fingers or any part of your body without it hurting. It tends to hurt more if you tighten the joints and muscles around the part you are cracking. Resolve this problem by holding your hand in the positions as stated above in the article and then wait until you are relaxed before applying pressure or force.

Wrist bones will naturally crack because of the way they are constructed. Similarly, finger bones typically won't crack because of their construction. If you want to crack your knuckles, you have to keep practicing until you can do it.

It is supposedly bad for you to crack any joint in your body because it was believed that cracking them cased the cartilage (essentially the pillow for the bones) to rub against each other so they would become weaker, causing arthritis to occur earlier. However, this has been disproved and the cracking sound is caused by the sudden release of gas from between the two bones.

I'm using all the methods but the best I can get is a barely audible noise, not even much of a pop. Any way I can change how I'm doing it? Maybe I'm not doing it hard enough?

wikiHow Contributor

It takes time, get into the habit of trying to pop your knuckles in the morning right after you wake up. Your hands will be stiff and therefore will have a better chance of cracking. Once you crack them once it will get easier every time you try.

If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know.

Tips

You can also crack each finger individually, and you may find you can crack some of them at different angles. For instance, try taking your fourth finger with the thumb and index finger of the opposite hand on the tip and end knuckle, then sharply twist away from you.

Try gripping a finger between the thumb and forefinger of another hand. Grip the middle joint. Press the both the forefinger and the thumb towards the joint on alternate sides, and you should hear a 'click,' not a deep 'crack' like knuckle popping.

Also, you can push down hard on the lower section of your finger. If it touches the bottom of your finger, then you need to wait a bit longer.

You may try a different method which means wiggling your fingers about for ages or typing on a keyboard move your fingers, and then pull all your fingers. To do this pull hard.

You can extend your fingers loosely, grip a finger with the other hand, slowly bend finger backwards and pull.

You can push down on your fingers with your thumb on the other hand. Your finger will be straight, and pointing down.

Make a ninety degree angle with your palm and fingers, then with the palm of your other hand slide down your fingers until they touch the palm of your hand, and then quickly push up, so that you curl your hand into a fist. This should crack your top knuckles.

Warnings

The people whose hands are twisted, with gnarled fingers are likely to be suffering from rheumatic arthritis. This is a condition unrelated to cracking your knuckles, where your own immune system begins attacking your joints, causing inflammation and damage to the bones.

If you find you're getting into the habit of cracking your knuckles repeatedly, try to understand why and deal with that first. Frequent knuckle-cracking is quite often a sign of an underlying stress or anxiety.

A few people are very annoyed by cracking fingers. As a courtesy, try not to do this near those people.

While cracking your knuckles does NOT cause arthritis, one medical study showed that frequent knuckle crackers suffered soft tissue damage, and deterioration can become a bad habit if done excessively.